The present invention relates to a method of preserving organic materials from fungal attack by applying to or incorporating into the materials one or more of certain trihaloacrylic acid derivatives. The invention also provides a composition for use in such a method including one or more of the trihaloacrylic acid derivatives.
Most organic materials are susceptible, to some degree, to attack by a variety of natural pests, especially fungi. Susceptible materials include building materials (such as wood) and industrial materials (such as wet pulp, paper, straw mats, fibres, leathers, adhesives, paints, synthetic resins, wood and wood-containing or wood-based materials). The growth of undesirable fungi on these materials can lead not only to contamination but also to structural damage and the eradication of fungi, once established, can prove extremely difficult and often highly expensive. Preservation of such materials from fungal attack is also difficult and expensive. There is, therefore, a continuing need for new compounds to preserve organic materials from fungal attack and to eradicate already established fungal colonies.
A variety of trihaloallyl derivatives have been found to be valuable anti-fungal agents. Also, triiodoacrylic acid and certain alkyl esters thereof have been disclosed in Chemical Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 14, 1122 (1966), but no use for these compounds has been suggested.